Forever
by twinmomma78
Summary: Set immediately following "Always" 4x23 . Yes, another post-finale fic, but it's just a little bit of fluff I felt like writing. :
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing, although I wish I did. I tried to resist, but it seems that season finales tend to leave the door open and I can't help myself. I started to write just a quick one-shot so I could sleep well Monday night, knowing that the story is going somewhere we can all be so happy about…not sure if it'll stay a one-shot or travel into something longer, but we'll see!

They lay wrapped in each other's arms and tangled in bed sheets, listening peacefully as the rain continued to beat against his bedroom window. The lamp on the nightstand cast a dim light across the room, but neither cared. For a while no one spoke. The silence that filled the air was one of comfort and security, things they both needed now, and that they both found in each other. After what seemed like an eternity, he broke the silence.

"I hope you don't mind that we skipped the movies," he teased. Shifting himself up on one elbow, he turned to face her while keeping his other arm draped around her waist. Pressing a gentle kiss against her temple, he tilted his head and drew back to look her square in the eye.

Laughing, she snuggled in closer to him, still not quite believing that this was real. "I'm sure we can catch up on that some other time, Castle."

"Rick," he said. "I'm pretty sure we need to be on a first-name basis more to be doing what we…just…did…." He wiggled his eyebrows at her to earn another laugh. He loved to hear her laugh.

"Of course," she said once she caught her breath. "Rick." Brushing her hand along his cheek, she traced the face she knew so well. "I have to say, given the day I had, this is not how I pictured things ending up."

"Well, you know, nearly dying will do that to you almost every time," he huffed. "Do I even want to know how close you were?"

"Let's just say I was…hanging out…in the wrong place at the wrong time. We can discuss that more some other time," she said, dodging the inevitable explanation of her resignation from the 12th. "I'd rather…talk about the present for a while."

"I do love to live in the present," he said. He moved his arm to hold her tightly against his chest when she rolled to her side. "I could stay right here in this present, forever…if I thought we could get away with it."

"Why stay in the present when there's so much of a future ahead?" She turned her eyes up to gaze into his, hoping he'd follow her meaning.

"The future," he started. "The future is looking a lot brighter right now. I can't tell you what it means to have you here, in my arms, in my life right now. Kate, it's not like I planned to get to this point so quickly, but I need you to know that I don't have any regrets, and I hope you don't either."

"No, no regrets," she agreed, lazily trailing her fingers down his arm.

"And as for the future, I think that we need to be sure you're ready to let go of your past before we can really move forward," he said. It was a bold move to make such a request, but there was a genuine understanding between them now, and he trusted that she could handle the honesty.

"When I was in danger, I called for you," she said. "I thought I heard you calling me, but it wasn't your voice after all…and all I could think about was that I needed you by my side. The past, no matter how important it's been to me, is nothing compared to the road that is ahead of me, of us. I understand that now." Leaning closer to him, she took his lips with hers and poured her heart into a kiss. Pulling her face back again, she opened her eyes to look at him clearly when she felt his hesitation.

"How much of this do we explore, and how fast? What do we tell the guys at the precinct?" His questions reminded her again just how much they would need to discuss, but she wasn't ready to delve into those issues yet. He wasn't going to be happy when she told him that she'd resigned. For the first time in what seemed like a very long, long time, she made a conscious decision that she would focus only on the moment at hand and enjoy every second she could.

"Let's just worry about now. The future will still be there in the morning," she said, kissing him in between words before silencing herself completely.

_After all…forever has to start somewhere,_ she thought quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

Hours later, she watched his face as he dozed peacefully. Limbs entangled, she realized that she had never been more relaxed or comfortable, despite the sore muscles and bruises she'd sustained from her earlier rooftop chase.

Deep in thought, she barely noticed that he had woken up and was watching her intently under half-closed eyelids. "Penny for your thoughts, Detective?"

"I'm just thinking that I could easily spend all day, right here, without ever addressing the outside world," she murmured as she moved in to snuggle against his neck. The pulse of his heartbeat in that curved space was so soothing, and when she took a breath she inhaled deeply, committing the scent of his cologne to memory.

"Does this mean you're going to take a day off from work?" he asked.

_He doesn't know,_ she remembered suddenly. With all of the haste of the night before, the conversation hadn't progressed to the point where she could tell him about her resignation. Sensing her hesitation, he reached over and took her chin in his hand, gently guiding her eyes back to his and raising an eyebrow to re-ask the question silently.

"Castle," she started, then paused. "Rick." A brief smile shadowed her face at the self-correction. "I need to tell you something." Easing herself to a sitting position and wrapping the bedsheet around her chest in a moment of awareness, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she searched for the right way to approach the conversation. Sometimes simplicity was best, she realized. "I resigned from the 12th."

"What?" The announcement had him caught somewhere between numb shock and absolute awe. "What do you mean you _resigned_?"

"I went after the shooter and threw everything else out the window, protocol, rules…you," she said, shaking her head at the thought. "I was irrational and…and stupid. I was so focused on finding the truth that I became someone I'm not proud of. I got Javi in trouble. He's suspended. Gates was suspending me, too, so I just turned in my badge and my gun and I left. Truth is, Ryan is the only reason I made it off that rooftop, and he's still damaged from what happened. Javi's not even talking to him. And I'm responsible for all of it. I broke my team."

He sat quietly, letting her get all of her frustration out, not knowing exactly what to say. He kept his hand on her knee, his thumb rubbing slow and gentle circles. She raised her head to look at him again and shrugged her shoulders. Waiting for him to say something, anything, was almost unbearable, but she knew he was giving her time and space. She linked her fingers with his and brought their joined hands to her forehead, resting her eyes and sighing.

"You know, the Kate Beckett I know…and love…wouldn't give up so easily on anything that mattered as much as this," he said calmly. "I don't know all the details, but I do know that the NYPD was, IS, lucky to have you around. I don't think they'd let you go that easily. Maybe if you just go back, talk to Gates, you could –"

"I don't know if I can." She said it so quietly, so plainly, so simply, the words crushed him. This was a pain that he couldn't bear for her. She had come to him the night before, heart open and ready, but the bruises on her emotions were just as potent as the ones he could see blooming from her physical struggles the day before when she'd almost lost her life.

"You don't have to make any decisions now," he decided. "Not today. Today is ours. At least, until Alexis gets home from her friend's house, which will probably be sometime soon." He turned to check the time on the alarm clock for confirmation. Turning back to face her, he cupped her cheek in his hand and ran his thumb along her cheekbone. "One step at a time, I promise," he said softly.

"Thank goodness," she replied, reaching for him and pulling him closer for a passionate kiss. "How much time until Alexis gets home?"


End file.
